The Burn: Beyond Firestop

Hosted by John Zalepka

Intro

Welcome to The Burn, Beyond Firestop. This is a podcast where I will be interviewing interesting people involved in construction to get their unique perspectives. I’m going to be using my experience as the training and development manager, to help our audience walk away with an understanding of how our guests and their businesses contribute to the promotion of life safety of whatever is being built.

Our show is brought to you by Specified Technologies, also known as STI Firestop. We are a global leader in the industry in developing innovative fire protective systems that help stop the spread of fire, smoke and hot gases.

Our first guest is a specialist in fire resistant cable seals and pipe transfers for STI Firestop Marine, which is a division of STI that specializes in Marine Fire Protection in the cruise line, offshore oil and gas and general maritime industry. All the way from the Netherlands, our ship storyteller and regional manager for STI Marine Rubin Wansink

Key Takeaways

Ruben’s journey into Firestop

• Went to school for Engineering
• First job was global sales for fire resistant glass for ships
• Transitioned to business development and strategic marketing for all products being offered for ships, mainly dealing with construction and safety
• Joined STI in 2016 as a specialist in fire resistant cable seals and pipe transfers

Disaster leads to innovation

• When ships set sail, you cannot fail
• Whether it was the Titanic, or more resent cruise ships or oil rig disasters, strict codes and regulations are born from those events
• You can flee a burning building, but you cannot flee a burning ship

A unique industry

• Ships need to be built to with an international set of rules, because they can operate anywhere, be resold, etc.

Technology drives change

• Be proactive instead of waiting for something to go wrong
• New project in Europe looking at how to transport Electric Vehicles

Effects of the pandemic

• Many cruise ships stand idle as a result of the pandemic, so riding crews are not continuously updating safety systems
• Cruise ships will change the way they operate in a post pandemic world
• A company like STI has products that current crew members can install and maintain, rather than hiring outside riding crews

Upcoming Webinar

• Targeting Ship Mangers & Chief Engineers

Join Ruben Wansink, Fire Engineer, Ship Story Teller and Regional Manager Marine for STI Marine for the upcoming webinar: Cable Transits & Pipe Seals in Ships

Fire protection onboard ships is extremely important, particularly when it comes to cable and pipe penetrations.

In this webinar, Ruben will discuss the importance of fire protection and provide some historical insight into cable transits and pipe seals in fire-rated bulkheads and decks.

If you are you a ship owner, operator, ship yard, surveyor, electrical installer or pipe fitter, you will want to join us to better under understand the basics of fire protection requirements on board ships along with marine approvals, certifications and testing.

Ruben on LinkedIn

• Uses social media to connect with people and talk about cultural differences that relates to his work.
• History of shipping
• Any topics he feels are interesting and relates to his industry

About Ruben:

Ruben Wansick is a Fire Engineer, Ship Story Teller and Regional Manager Marine for STI Marine, the specialized manufacturer of Fire Resistant cable transits and pipe seals.

Specialties: Strategic Marketing & Sales Development, Technical BtoB, International business. New Business development. Marketing Integration, Fire safety. Logistics, Negotiating. Cultural brigding. Fluent in English, Dutch, Portuguese, good level of German and basic Spanish and French.

Ruben’s LinkedIn

Ruben’s STI Webinar